Acceptance and tolerance have become a necessity for humans, as a whole, to live in peaceful co-existence. Various cultures are fighting against oppression, seeking liberation and acceptance in a world where diversity is being blatantly rejected. However, cultural diversity is at a high-point, and it has become evident that we need to promote a spirit of unity to create a world where we can work together and cooperate with one another. The challenges that we may face as inhabitants of this planet will require a unified front.

To that end, it has become incumbent on schools to raise global citizens. ‘Internationalism’ as a concept helps promote a spirit of unity and acceptance. Taught in classrooms, it emphasizes why children need to learn to be more compassionate as well as more aware of things happening all around the world.

However, as a concept taught in classrooms, it does not provide the depth that children need to experience and understand prevalent issues. While letting children explore and debate over national issues is pertinent, children, as well as other individuals, need to travel around the world, meet other people and experience different cultures to broaden their view and have a deeper understanding of what they have learned. Travelling provides a deeper capability of reflection, as it enables first-hand experiences and perspectives.

It is time that we let children who study various aspects of the world experience it. Education needs to move from books to the real world, from history to the present and future, and from theoretical to practical and experiential. Education needs to become about opening the world to our children; the students who want to learn more and do more.

The more children travel, the greater their chance for opportunities to connect with other people of different religions, cultures, upbringings, and skills. Travelling enables children to experience different styles of thinking and perspectives on society and the world, at large. It brings forth a realization that the world is bigger than we know. Just like the frog in the well, our children too need to get out to understand the world they live in. We must give our children a better view of the world than that through a map.

Such a global perspective can be brought into classrooms only if introduced at a school level. That being said, the path to reaching a global understanding doesn’t have to start big. We can start by enabling collaboration on a smaller scale. Practices like meetings between students with different subjects, one class learning or interacting with another class, inter-school collaborations, co-creation, etc. can pave the way for internationalism and the development of global citizens. We need to create a forum to usher in a change that isn’t only applicable to our settings, but more importantly, to our mindsets.

This sort of internal change, once initiated, can become innate. It can become a generally accepted practice and spread across schools. Today schools are slowly attempting to make international trips a possibility, however, funding can be a major issue, as can be parental acceptance. So, connect with us. At HOL, we help schools, teachers, and parents understand how to bring about a change that will benefit the children.